Translate:                   Digital technology brings a lot of interest to our erotic adventures. But the very things that make digital media and the internet so great - perfect replication, instant transfer and global connectivity - can, if not controlled, inhibit or destroy the fun. Here are a few thoughts on security and what we did with CoupleBox to preserve the fun, with far less effort. Did you know? That the password protection on your PC can, in most cases, be defeated by anyone with a boot CD - giving them access to all your files? That desktop search software and most photo applications will scour your hard-drive for all images, wherever you try to hide them? That if on a business trip you put personal photos on your PC, these are typically backed up to your corporate server when you log-in? You probably know That viruses and malicious software can give remote users access to unprotected files on your PC That putting all your files in a folder called 'Tax 2001' really does not make it safe (see 2 above!) You definitely know That teenagers will find anything on your computer that is not securely protected! That if your PC is a laptop then the risk of exposure through physical theft or loss is even greater That dumbass users, like me, have been known (and doghoused) for inadvertently attaching the wrong file to an email. 'Darling, how did I know that you were in DSC03923.jpg?' So, keeping your stuff secure and private, is not so easy. Here are some of the typical methods that we, and I'm sure, many of you have used, or are still using: Creating a folder with a boring name and putting your files there. When few users understood folders and search was weak, this did offer some limited protection, but today ... zilch. Copying files to a CD and hiding it. If you can hide the CD well this offers OK security. But it creates a barrier to viewing - find cd, insert cd, load, view, remember to remove cd , remember to hide cd. Also it is a pain to add stuff to the cd - which means intimate files sit unprotected on your hard-drive until you get around to burning them. Making back-up copies (important as CD's do develop errors) creates an added liability - there are now two or more copies for people to find. Put files inside a password protected ZIP file. Pretty safe but unless you fancy yourself as a computer admistrator this lasts for about a week. Entering your password to open each file then viewing it and then remembering to delete the extracted files is a total joyless headache. Using a Folder Locker utility. Easier than 3, but you are still forced to work within a file system - not very sexy. Because it is still using the file system the potential remains for sending the wrong file by mistake. We thought long and hard in designing the CoupleBox. These are features that we wanted and then spent a long time refining and making easy for you to use: Single password access: You only need to enter your password once. This also encourages the use of longer more secure passwords. We require at least 6 characters. Using 'fred' is not secure. Strong encryption: Many encryption algolrithms are becoming outdated. We went with the latest standard at full strength (256 bit). Purpose-built media player: As well as being much more fun, having a special media player, means your files are not exposed through an external player where they can be added to 'recently played' lists etc. It also means that CB is able do all the unencrypting work for you whenever you playback images or videos. Separate internal file system: Rather than rely on the Windows folders and file system we spent considerable effort in providing CoupleBox with its own, separately maintained file structure. This means that all information about your Albums, media names, notes and fave status are totally encrypted and never appear in the regular file system. It also allowed us to offer you cool features like easy handling of Photo Series and do things like have two pictures with the same name in an Album. This separation also prevents your intimate files from every mingling with your day-to-day stuff. No File Open or File Save: If you've used CoupleBox you will have noticed that you never need to 'save' anything. That's because CB takes care of all that stuff. You simply enter then add to or view your stuff and leave when you're done. All otherwise distracting housekeeping is taken care of for you. If you havn't tried out CB, download the trial and see what we mean. The CB Team.